N.E.W. Rules Outline
Here follows a summary of several points in the N.E.W. ruleset, written for conversion and compatibility with D&D 5e. For more specific thoughts on conversions and combinations using both N.E.W. and D&D 5e, see this page. Dice Pools & Ability Checks Much like in D&D 5th Edition, this system uses ability scores to measure a character's strengths and weaknesses. Instead of deriving modifiers from these scores like D&D does, the system derives "dice pools". A dice pool is a number of d6's that are used in place of a d20. The bigger a character's dice pool is, the more likely they will roll a high number on an ability check or attack roll. Flat modifiers are seldom added to dice pool rolls in this system. Dice pools are derived from Attributes (a.k.a. Ability Scores) and from Skills. When making a check, a player "forms" a dice pool by adding together the dice they get from a single relevant Ability Score and also a single, relevant Skill. For instance, three characters try to climb a wall. * One of them has no relevant skill, so they simply roll their STRENGTH pool for the check (2d6). * The second wants to use AGILITY for the check, but the DM rules that the check relies on physical strength more than dexterity. The player then asks if they can use STRENGTH and the Acrobatics skill for the check (1d6+1d6), and the DM allows it. * The third is an expert climber, and uses STRENGTH and the Climbing skill (1d6+3d6). Determining Dice Pools Attributes and skills award dice pools according to the table shown here. Look up the score or rank of the attribute or skill to find out how many dice are awarded for that skill. The scale slowly expands as it goes up, meaning that each new dice is slightly harder to obtain than the last one. High-quality equipment can, in some cases, award extra dice to checks that use that equipment. For instance, a fancy or exceptional sword could add 2d6 to any attack rolls that use it, or a high-tech scanner could add 1d6 to checks made to scan for diseases and 2d6 to checks made to scan for mineral content. However, no matter what a character's abilities, skills, or equipment may grant them in terms of dice, EVERY pool is limited to a maximum number of dice determined by the character's Grade (a.k.a. their level). See below for more on character grades and progression. * Ex. A character has 9 AGI, 4 ranks in Swords, and an exceptional katana. Normally their dice pool for this character's sword attack would be 7d6 (3d6 AGI +2d6 Swords +2d6 katana), but they are only grade 6, so their max. dice pool is limited to 6d6. Until they reach grade 8, they will not be able to use the full dice pool. Attributes (Ability Scores) In this system, there is no limit to an attribute. As a character progresses, they can increase their attribute scores as desired. All characters start at the same average level for their race, with base attributes being defined by the rules. Then, depending on what career and background options they choose, their attributes can increase from there. The primary attributes used in this system are Strength (STR), Agility (AGI), Endurance (END), Willpower (WIL), Intuition (INT), Logic (LOG), Charisma (CHA), and Luck (LUC). There are also two secondary attributes called Reputation (REP) and Psionics (PSI). Since this system is d6-based, the scores are much lower on average (a 4 is average for an attribute, and a 12 is almost the highest possible for a humanoid). Like in D&D, these attributes are sometimes used to derive a DEFENSE score, or the character's speed and health. * Strength: Measures might and brawn. Determines carrying capacity, some melee attacks, and melee damage. * Agility: Measures reflexes and dexterity. Determines ranged attacks and some melee attacks. Used for a shuttle maneuver or land safely. * Endurance: Measures constitution and hardiness. Determines your Health score. Used to resist effects of poison, disease, or environmental hardships. * Intuition: Measures common sense, perception, empathy, and instinct. Used for "Insight checks", to spot something, or sense impending danger. * Logic: Measures reasoning, knowledge, and education. Can roughly estimate IQ as 60 + (LOG x 10). Used to operate complex electronics, apply first aid, or recall knowledge. * Willpower: Measures strength of mind. Determines your Health score and Mental Defense. * Charisma: Measures physical attractiveness, personal magnetism, or force of personality. Used when interacting with others. * Luck: An unpredictable force. This functions as a resource: you may add one or more Luck dice to a roll much like Bardic Inspiration in D&D, or use Luck dice on other special actions. Luck replenishes itself every day. * Reputation: Measures fame, influence, and social standing. Determines starting money. Used to get loans or for some interpersonal interactions. * Psionics: Measures the psionic potential of a character. Determines mental and telepathic attacks and abilities. Skills Unlike in D&D, where every character can choose from a limited skill list, this system allows pretty much anything to be considered a skill, whether that be piloting, pistols, flower arranging, ambidexterity, rugby, disguise, telepathy, negotiating, flirtation, acting, or anything in between. See this list for suggestions as to what sorts of skills one might take. Many specific skills are awarded by career ranks or origins, and some skills are used for Defense statistics. These will be outlined in the list referred to above. Skills reflect training and background, and are acquired as a character progresses through their life. A skill is not required to attempt a task, but having that training simply makes the task easier; even if you have no ranks in piloting, you can still try to land a damaged shuttlecraft. When using a skill's dice, it is typically added to an attribute's dice to form a dice pool (see Determining Dice Pools above), using the most relevant attribute. Characters with rank 3 in a skill roughly equate to having a bachelor's degree in that subject. 6 is roughly equivalent to a doctorate. Characters with rank 15 in a skill are extremely rare, as most characters prefer to split their focus among several skills or attributes. Grade A character's grade is equal to the total number of Career Grades they have taken, and their grade limits the maximum any dice pools may be. NPCs and monsters also have grades, and their dice pools are limited in the same way. The limitations per grade are listed on the table here. Typically, a character begins at Grade 5, which includes an origin (equivalent to a Background in D&D) and four career grades. A grade 1 character is young and below average in terms of competency. Grade 2 would be appropriate for a cadet or teenaged farmer longing for adventure. Grade 10 characters are highly competent, experienced professionals, who have likely already maxed out one entire career. Health, Speed, and Other Stats Health Heath is a mix of physical and mental stamina. Form a dice pool with your END and WIL attributes (and add dice from the hardy ''skill if you have it). Roll the resulting pool, and record the total rolled as your HEALTH score. If the total is less than 10, you may take 10 instead. In this system, combat is a deadly affair and health does not increase much as a character progresses. DMs can opt to use "Cinematic Mode", in which case characters and creatures also add their LUC dice pool when rolling for their total health. When playing this way, Adult characters gain an extra LUC die, and Old characters gain another on top of that, representing experience. Speed Speed is measured in squares on the combat grid. Your normal SPEED is equal to the size of your STR dice pool plus your AGI dice pool, making it a flat score. You may also add dice from the ''running ''skill if you have it. For any other type of movement, such as Climbing, Swimming, Zero-G, and High-G, your SPEED is equal to the size of your STR dice pool plus your AGI dice pool plus any dice from the relevant skill (''climbing, swimming, zero-g, ''or ''high-g), divided by 2. Small or smaller characters suffer a -1 penalty to SPEED. Jump This is the distance / height you can jump without making any check. This is measured in feet, not squares. These values also assume a 10-foot running start. From standstill, halve these results. * Long Jump '' = twice your AGI attribute, in feet. * ''High Jump ''= your STR attribute, in feet. Cannot exceed your long jump. To jump a height or distance exceeding these values, make an attribute check with the DC equal to the number of feet horizontally, or three times the number of feet vertically. Carry Your carry increment is equal to (STR + END) x 10, measured in pounds. If you have the ''carry ''skill, you may add the raw value (not the dice pool) before the x10 multiplier. Each exceeded carry increment inflicts a -1d6 penalty to physical attribute checks and a -1 to SPEED. Initiative This score is equal to your INT dice pool. You may also add the ''tactics ''or ''reactions ''dice pools, if you have one of those skills (in starship combat, use ''starship tactics ''instead of these skills). Age A character's age falls into one of three broad categories based on the lifespan and maturity rate of their race: ''Young, Adult, ''and ''Old. ''For humans, young is under 25, adult is 26-59, and old is 60+. Each age category has a unique, free Exploit (see the Exploits section) associated with it: * ''Young. ''Once per day, when rolling a dice pool, you may declare it to be an exploding dice pool. Any 6s that you roll may be rolled again, the new roll adding to the existing 6. If you roll a 6 again, repeat, until you roll less than a 6. * ''Adult. ''Gains no benefits or detriments. ** NOTE: in Cinematic Mode (see Health), an Adult character gains an additional LUC die. * ''Old. ''Once per day, when rolling a dice pool, you may declare it to be a careful dice pool. Any 1s that you roll may be rerolled, with the new roll replacing the 1. If you roll a 1 a second time, however, you must keep the 1. Additionally, the bonus gained from your hook increases to +2d6. Old characters can no longer improve physical attributes (STR, AGI, END) through career advances or experience expenditure, although they may do so via other means (magic, cybernetics, etc.). ** NOTE: in Cinematic Mode (see Health), an Old character gains an additional two LUC die (one for Adult, and an extra for Old). Character Advancement Characters in N.E.W. do not follow specific classes, like they do in D&D. They do, however, earn experience and acquire new abilities. Instead of levelling up at set points, characters "spend" experience and time to increase their abilities. * ''Time: ''A character can take a new career grade by spending the time required by the career (usually 1d6 years) training or working in that career. This requires downtime, as well as years of the character's life, but no XP expenditure is needed. * ''Experience Points: ''The DM awards XP as they deem appropriate for overcoming challenges in the game or reaching milestones. These points are spent on new career grades, attribute and skill increases, or universal exploits (see below). There are no flat challenge ratings or XP values in N.E.W. for completing tasks or defeating enemies. The rulebook advises the DM to evaluate encounters after they are completed and award accordingly. A medium encounter should award XP points per character equal to that character's total Grade. Adjust accordingly on a scale between 0 XP to Grade XP. Spending XP A character can spend XP on a new career grade (instead of spending time), or on an ''Incremental Advance ''(meaning an attribute or skill increase, or an exploit). Think of a new career grade as levelling up and gaining a new class feature in D&D, and think of an incremental advance as being identical to an Ability Score Increase. Note that a character cannot jump more than one level or point at a time; they must increase a score of 3 to 4 before they can increase it to 5. * ''New Career Grade: The XP cost of a new career grade equals 10 times the new grade. Ex. ''piloting 1 costs 10 XP, while increasing from piloting 4 ''to piloting 5'' costs 50 XP. No time is needed if XP points are spent in this way. * ''Attribute Increase: To increase an attribute, the XP cost is three times the new score. * Skill Rank Increase: To increase a skill's rank, just like an attribute, the XP cost is three times the new score. * Universal Exploit: ''The cost of a universal exploit is equal to 5 times your current total Grade. You cannot buy career exploits in this way. Note that in all these cases, only XP is spent, rather than time. A character immediately gains the benefit of these expenditures upon purchasing them. Also note that spending XP on incremental advances is actually less cost-effective than spending it on new career grades. Not only do you get more benefits per point with a new career grade, but you also increase your character's overall grade (or level), which increases their maximum dice pool limit. Advancement and Age Once a character reaches Old age, their physical attributes (STR, AGI, END) can no longer be increased by non-supernatural, non-technological means. Career advancements which would normally increase those attributes no longer do so, and incremental increases to those attributes cannot be purchased. Exploits An exploit is essentially a less powerful, more situational type of Feat, in D&D terms. These are divided into two categories: Universal Exploits and Career Exploits. See the rulebook for details. * ''Universal Exploits. Any character can learn a universal exploit if they qualify for it, and they purchase it with XP. Characters begin play with one free universal exploit plus either Aim or Feint. Characters also gain universal exploits when they repeat a career for which they have already chosen all available career exploits. * Career Exploits. These are restricted to certain careers, and can only be taken as part of a new career grade. Any exploit can be used once per turn. Multiple exploits can even be used in combination as part of the same action (e.g. Reckless Attack, Aim, & Disarm; or Charge and Knockdown). No matter the combination, no exploit can be used more than once a turn. Costs Some exploits modify existing actions or attacks, but have a "cost" as well. When using such exploits, the character simply deducts (or "pays") the indicated number of dice from their dice pool for that action or attack. This functions just like Great Weapon Master or Sharpshooter in D&D 5e: a penalty to the hit roll to gain benefits upon a hit. Unlike D&D however, this concept is used far more, being a vital part of the combat system. Prerequisites Most exploits have a requirement in terms of attribute scores or previous exploits. Characters must meet these prerequisites to purchase or gain a new exploit. Example Universal Exploits * Blind Shot (requires LUC 5+). While in full cover, you may pay 2d6 to take a shot without looking at what you are shooting at or exposing yourself. You use your LUCK attribute instead of your Agility or Intuition for this shot. * Opportunist Stomp. You can stomp on an adjacent prone opponent as a free action. This is an unarmed attack and uses your natural damage value. * Target Engines (requires gunnery skill). You can choose to target an enemy ship’s engines by paying 2d6. Attacks to the engines directly reduce their power output instead of damaging superstructure (and consequently affect the ship’s speed or FTL capability). * Taunt (requires CHA 8+). You taunt your target, enraging it, and make a CHA vs. Mental Defense attack. If successful, the target focuses all its attacks on you until the start of your next turn. Combat Defense Instead of a single AC bonus and different Saving Throws, like in D&D, in this system each character has three separate DEFENSE scores: Melee Defense, Ranged Defense, and Mental Defense. All three have a minimum value of 10. To calculate these scores, a character forms a dice pool for each one, then takes the average of that pool's roll. This score is then adjusted based on the character's size, armor, and shield size. Note that if your equipment adds to your pool, you cannot benefit from more Equipment dice than Skill dice. 1) Calculate dice pool: * Melee Defense: or AGI + [''acrobatics, dodging, ''or ''foresight] + or shield quality * ''Ranged Defense: AGI + [''acrobatics, dodging, ''or foresight''] + quality * ''Mental Defense: ''LOG, or WIL + meditation, ''or another similar skill 2) Convert dice pool to score: 3) Adjust score based on size: The minimum value is 10. 4) Adjust Melee and Ranged Defense for shields and armor: Attacks There are three basic categories of attack: Unarmed, Ranged Weapon, and Melee Weapon. Rolls to hit are done with a number of d6's (or a "pool") determined by a single relevant ability score and a single relevant skill. Damage rolls typically have a number of d6's as well as a flat modifier. * ''Unarmed: To Hit pool: ''STR or AGI + skill. ''Damage: ''1d6 + pool number (+1d6 for each size above Medium) ** Ex. Human w/ STR 4 does 1d6+2. ** Relevant skills include ''brawling, boxing, wrestling, martial arts, ''etc. * 'Melee: '''To Hit pool: ''STR or AGI + skill. ''Damage: ''See the weapon's statistics. ** Relevant skills include ''swords, polearms, clubs, knives, axes, ''etc. * '''Ranged: '''To Hit pool: ''AGI or INT + skill. ''Damage: ''See the weapon's statistics. ** Relevant skills include ''pistols, rifles, heavy weapons, bows, sniper rifles, ''etc. Category:Sci-Fi Category:Sci-Fi Rules